St. Croix River Fishing Reports

[Joe]

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[threerivers]

I was fishing out of the north Hudson area in 33-36 fow from noon to 4:30pm. I saw fish all day on the bottom and suspended. I used minnows with not even a bite. I could get the fish to follow my lure, but just couldn't get any fish to latch on . I fished for walleyes and crappies. I bet the big drop in the temp. didn't help.

[jason flannigan]

I was out friday from 11-4 with my daughter and we picked up 5 crappies.Nothing huge 9.5-11".My little girls first crappi 11"!She is already talking about our next trip.Been out there 5 times and that's the best i've done.Maybe it's about to turn around.

[WalleyeChaser]

Tried the YMCA flats yesterday afternoon with little luck. Had 2 hits and a few lookers but that was it. Moved a couple different times but that wasn't the ticket. Going to investigate some more out there this afternoon! And maybe catfish bar. This darn cold weather makes it hard to want to get out of the shack and move around. Good luck to the rest of you.

[safarionice]

This morning was actually one of my better days on the river this year. I ventured off the beaten path and had a nice flurry of action between 8:30 and 11:00 am catching about 20 crappies. The weren't the big slabs the river is known for, but they were in the 10-12 inch range. I kept 8 for a nice meal and released the rest. It sure was nice to see the bobber go down again after some pretty slow fishing the past few weeks! Hopefully everyone else had some improved fishing today also.

[Buck_Hunter04]

Fished out of North Hudson tonight and only got two Crappies. Both were suspended. Lots of other suspended fish, I could get them to chase but wouldn't commit. I would figure it will get better with the warmer temps comin. Did manage to get a couple of bass off the bottom, man they are fun to catch.

[Turk]

Safarionice,

Glad you did so well! Any tips that you can think of to attribute your success too? You did mentioned away from the crowds.

Thanks,

Turk

[fishwater]

Here's a sure fire way to land a crappie - almost guaranteed to work some of the time!! I refer to it as the buddy method.

Go out and drill a hole in 30+ feet of water. Ideally in a deeper hole, off a break or just about anywhere in the basin should work. Put down a line, hook and sinker with a crappie minnow tail-hooked about 3' off the bottom. Put down your other line with a jig or small spoon of your choice and let it come to rest slightly above your other bait.

Let the lines sit still for a good 2-3 hours while the fickle crappie sniff your baits periodically. Don't bother to jig too much with your 'jigging' rod, it is counterproductive to the entire method - you need to be patient!! When you are about completely bored and think maybe you should do something more productive with your day off, your time is getting near. Wait a short while more until another crappie is coming up to sniff your bait (which by this time is now the crappie's little buddy.) Now here's the trick. Reel up his buddy fairly fast right before the crappie gets up to "hang out." The crappie will be slightly confused. Now is your chance to strike! You have a small window of opportunity, so get to it! Jiggle your rod with the jig or spoon slightly then slowly start to raise. The slightly disoriented crappie will hopefully be confused enough to move towards your lure and lash out in response to loosing his buddy. If this doesn't work, start over and put the buddy back for a couple hours and try again.

[Sandmannd]

That's pretty good right there Sean.

[Fishin4aLivin]

Wow that method sounds really REALLY familar. We had another idea but my son wasn't willing to participate. Anyways my thoughts on the river is that it is a plain waste of time, money, and energy. I am going to blame the PWT pro's for coming in here last October and cleaning out ALL of the fish. You have to blame it on something right? In all seriousness it has been slow. I was out on Sunday from about 6-11am and only came up with one small sauger, a good fighting mooneye, and a friend of mine caught a crappie as we were packing up. Still fun to get my son out with me. It's amazing to me that even though we only caught three fish and he didn't catch any of them that he can't wait to go back. I do recall though that last year did not pick up until towards the end of January for me so there is still hope!

[Turk]

I am going to blame the PWT pro's for coming in here last October and cleaning out ALL of the fish. You have to blame it on something right?

They wouldn't let me weigh the slab 15" crappie at the tournament trailer, would have been nice. LOL!

Turk

[safarionice]

Turk, I had been fishing the shanty town area with out much success, so I figured I had to try something different, Just tried some new areas, and got lucky finding some active fish. Most were caught 4-6 ft off the bottom with glow jigs. Plain hook didn't seem to do much, but as soon as I lit up the jigs, it seemed to turn on some of the fish. Some people started to fish close to me around 11am, and that's when it seemed to slow down, I don't know if all the activity on the ice turned them off, or what, but it seemed that being by myself, away from others was the key. I kinda enjoyed the peacefulness of being away from the crowd.

[WalleyeChaser]

Had lots of light bites in the afton area from 4:45 to about 5:30 but no hook-ups. Missed a couple that felt like they might have had some size to them, but i think a good percentage of them were just dinks toying with me! Best action i have had in a couple weeks though. Hopefully this weather flattens out so the bite turns back on!!

[croixflats]

Did you end up fishing where I mentioned I was fishing.

[catflisher]

And as I remember, they folks that got out early last year did the best ,,then it slowed down,..but not as down as it seems to be with all the posts I've seen lately...It even seems like some guys I know have not been putting on the usual winter wieght as much as last year..Fewer fish pigouts..Just not biting near as good as last year at this time..alot of sniffers, and no takers...It does seem like alot of fish were caught the last couple years...It was a boomtown...Could we actually have affected the ST. Croix...I mean, it goes all the way to the gulf of mexico!!!..Is it possible that we screwed it up ???

[croixflats]

I would hate to think so. We need another flood to rejuvenate the stock. Even in the summer the shorties were hardly there. I remember a just few years ago you couldn't keep the 14 inches off your line, where did they go.

Could be us or is it to much bait fish. Is it a cycle or is the weather patterns a affecting things. Or is it the pleasure cruisers adding to it or fishing pressure. Who knows, its a wait and see right now.

When was the last netting done and can they even get an accurate count on a river.

[Turk]

Safari,

My take on the crappies in Bayport is they move. I believe they are there and maybe crowds scare them, but it is a deep water fishery.

With the bottom being as uniform in composition and depth as it is, it's hard to keep schools of fish in one spot. Good job on identifing the lures that they wanted that day (though, unfortunatley I think some days a whole tackle box won't get them to go?!?).

Keep Catchin'

Turk

[safarionice]

Yes Turk, I do agree with what you are saying. The same green glow in the dark jig that caught them on Sunday, wasn't getting touched on Saturday. A person just needs to keep trying new things and not give up. I found myself thinking "I caught them here last year, so I'm going to catch them in the same spot this year." It doesn't always work that way, and we need to become more versatile, I do appreciate your posts and knowledge on the river. Your experience can help all of us to better learn the river!

[WalleyeChaser]

Croixflats, yeah thats where we were, set up in about 22 ft. of water. Had a few tip-ups out also in various depths out there but nothing on those either. Marked fish anywhere from bottom up to 3 ft off the bottom.

[croixflats]

Marking fish well that is a good sign.. Going out tomorrow maybe this front coming through might turn them on.

[Hudson_Fisherman]

Just wondering--how thick is the ice out there between N. Hudson and Bayport?

[LindyRig08]

A lot! Was out sunday night and was very happy to see! Lol

[Hudson_Fisherman]

Guess I'd better borrow my buddy's power auger. It gets tough with my hand auger!!!

[fishwater]

I haven't measured recently, but it has to be pushing 2' now. I know it is significantly thicker north of the Hiline.

[croixflats]

Guess I'd better borrow my buddy's power auger. It gets tough with my hand auger!!!

If your going out today I am heading up to the power lines be happy to drill some holes for you, be in a blue northlander 8x8 with an old white 89 gmc pickup. Heading out as soon as I get loaded up.

[catch22]

Got 10 crappies on 1/27, 8-14 inches. slow bite.

[AuggieDawg11]

I am heading out to Bayport today. If anyone else is going to be out, stop by and say hello. Maroon Ford Taurus with a Clam 2000.

[DonBo]

Got 10 crappies on 1/27, 8-14 inches. slow bite.

This was a slow day? That's one of best reports we've heard.

[AuggieDawg11]

Had a decent day. 6 crappies total from 10-13". Caught all of them in a deep basin towards the end of the day. Missed about 5 while they were coming up the hole. Green Demon jig and crappie minnows were the weapon tonight. Man, the ice got really thick!

[catch22]

Originally Posted By: catch22

Got 10 crappies on 1/27, 8-14 inches. slow bite.

This was a slow day? That's one of best reports we've heard.

It took from 0715-1500 to get them. I should have included that. Plus the last two lakes I spent time on the bite was fairly consistent - 35-40 crappies, but the size was small.